Arthur Scott Bailey

“ Then, too, Dickie Deer Mouse had a trick of gathering good things to eat, which he hid away in some safe place, so that he would not have to go hungry during the winter, when the snow lay deep upon the ground. And even Frisky Squirrel was no spryer at carrying beechnuts—or any other goody—to his secret cupboard than little white-footed Dickie Deer Mouse. ”

“ But during his hunt for birds' nests Dickie Deer Mouse was careful to keep away from Solomon Owl, and his cousin Simon Screecher, and all the rest of the Owl family. He contented himself with hasty peeps into nests built by such smaller folk as Blackbirds and Robins. And if it happened that anybody was living in one of those nests, Dickie soon found it out. For the angry owners were sure to fly at him with screams of rage, and peck at his head as they darted past him.
It was really not worth while getting into a fight over a bird's nest, when there was plenty of old ones in which nobody dwelt. ”

“ At the mention of food Fatty Coon's face took on a different look.
"I'm hungry myself," he said, as if he had just remembered something. "I was on my way to Farmer Green's corn house when I met you. And I really ought to get there before the moon comes up. So if you'll tell me where your house is I'll stop there when I come back."
"My new home——" Dickie Deer Mouse informed him with an air of great pride——"my new home is in the burrow where Mr. and Mrs. Woodchuck used to live. The front door is under the tree that stands on the knoll just beyond the fence. ”

“ Pine Finch:
"Shake a lot of 'em down—there's a good fellow!"
Mr. Pine Finch fluttered to a perch on a limb and looked down in great surprise.
"Did you speak?" he inquired.
"Yes!" Dickie Deer Mouse piped up. "You know, I can climb a tree; but I can't crawl out to the tips of the branches, because I'm too heavy. So you'll oblige me if you'll drop a few dozen more of those buds."
The request surprised Mr. Pine Finch. His face told that much.
"Buds!" he exclaimed. "Why do you want buds?"
"I eat them—when I can get them," Dickie Deer Mouse informed him. ”

“ Crow, for I haven't eaten a peck of Farmer Green's corn. I've had only a few kernels of it—not more than half a pint."
"Then you've got me into a half-pint of trouble, anyway," old Mr. Crow insisted. "And that's too much, for a person of my age. You'll have to keep away from my—ahem!—from Farmer Green's cornfield. And what's more, Fatty Coon says the same thing."37
At the mention of Fatty Coon's name Dickie Deer Mouse had to smile.
"Fatty Coon!" he echoed. "How he does like corn!"
"Yes! But he doesn't like you," Mr. Crow snapped. "You'd better look out for him," he warned Dickie. ”

“ Of all the birds in Pleasant Valley the only good nest-builder I know is Long Bill Wren. He must be a very sensible29 fellow, because he puts a roof on his house."
Now, Dickie Deer Mouse may—or may not—have known that some of his bird neighbors were near at hand, watching him. Certainly they must have heard what he said, for they began to scold at the top of their voices. And one rude listener named Jasper Jay screamed with fine scorn:
"What do you know about building a nest?" ”

“ As for Jasper Jay, he told Dickie Deer32 Mouse that, in his opinion, the house was ruined.
"It's nothing but a trap," he declared. "And I'd hate to go to sleep inside it."
His views, however, did not trouble Dickie Deer Mouse in the least. The place suited him. And he was so happy in it that sometimes when the weather was bad and he wasn't whisking about in the trees, or scurrying around on the ground, he would stay inside his cozy home, with only his head sticking out through the doorway, while his big, bright, bulging, black eyes took in everything that happened in his dooryard. ”

“ Most people, strolling through the pasture, would have noticed little except grass and bushes, trees and rocks and knolls. But those were not the things that Dickie Deer Mouse discovered, and78 sniffed at. What he was hunting for was holes.
For Dickie had decided that when winter came, with its ice and snow, its cruel gales and its piercing cold, he would be far more comfortable underground than he could ever hope to be in a last year's bird's nest that was fastened to a tree.
He had found it no easy matter to pick out a summer home. ”

“ In high spirits Dickie Deer Mouse hurried on through the woods until he came to the big beech tree. And though many others had been there before him, since the nuts had ripened, Dickie had such a sharp eye for a beech nut that even though it was then night, he soon found enough for a hearty meal.
Then he had to have a romp with a few gay fellows whom he met under the beech tree. And so quickly did the time pass that before he knew it the night had turned gray. Day was breaking. And shouting good-bye to his friends Dickie96 Deer Mouse ran off towards Farmer Green's pasture. He wanted a nap. ”

“ Fatty Coon paid no attention to the old gentleman.
But Dickie Deer Mouse thanked Mr. Crow and told him that after he had had all the corn he wanted he was going back to the woods.
Noticing that the old gentleman seemed peevish about something, Dickie said to him:
"There ought to be enough for all."
But still Mr. Crow looked glum.
"There's enough for them that don't care for much else," he muttered. "But we can't feed the whole world on this corn, you know.... ”

“ They did not eat all that they picked up. Like Dickie Deer Mouse, they stored some of the food in secret nooks and crannies, against a time of need.
That first early snowstorm had been a good thing for the dwellers in the underground chamber. It had warned them that winter was coming. And during the weeks that passed before the whole countryside116 became snow-bound they managed to gather enough nuts and seeds to last them through any ordinary winter—if they didn't eat too heartily.
When the real winter finally descended upon Pleasant Valley it found the Deer Mouse cousins quite ready for it. ”

“ Fatty Coon exclaimed.
"Have you ever tried horns?" Dickie Deer Mouse asked him.
Fatty Coon looked puzzled.
"What kind?" he asked his small friend.
"Deer's!" Dickie explained. "You know they drop them in the woods sometimes. I've had many a meal off deer's horns. And I can say truthfully that there's nothing quite like them when you're hungry."
Fatty Coon actually began to look hopeful.
"I'm always hungry," he announced. "And perhaps if I could get a taste of56 deer's horns they would keep my mind off the cornfield. Where did you say I could find some?" ”

“ But he didn't know that, even if Dickie Deer Mouse did. And that was the reason why Dickie smiled as he watched59 Fatty Coon dodging about among the trees, looking for deer's horns where there couldn't possibly be any.
"It's the finest thing that could happen to Fatty," Dickie Deer Mouse thought. "While he's hunting for horns he can't go to the cornfield. And so long as he stays away from the cornfield, old dog Spot can't catch him there." ”

“ Solomon Owl told his cousin Simon Screecher, while Dickie Deer Mouse stood stock still on the ground beneath the tree where the two cousins were sitting. "I'm glad to see you. And I hope you're enjoying good health."
"I'm well enough," Simon Screecher grunted.
"Do you find plenty to eat nowadays?" ”

“ Pine Finch's favorite tree came to an end. The snow vanished. Warm128 weather made the underground chamber in Farmer Green's pasture seem crowded and stuffy. And Dickie Deer Mouse said farewell to his eighteen cousins, because he wanted to look for a pleasant place in which to spend the summer. ”

“ But he didn't mind their remarks in the least—until he caught Fatty Coon's name.
It was old Mr. Crow who mentioned it first.
"I'll have to tell Fatty Coon about this queer house," he chuckled. "It's too good a joke to keep. He'll be over41 here as soon as he knows where to come, for he'll be glad to see it; and he wants to talk to Dickie Deer Mouse about taking our corn."
Dickie had still felt somewhat sleepy during the first part of this talk outside his house. But when Mr. Crow began to speak about Fatty Coon, Dickie became instantly wide awake. He sprang quickly to his feet ”

“ Crow's. He wants all the corn himself."
"Don't you think, then, that you and I ought to eat all the corn we can?" Dickie inquired.
"I certainly do!" Fatty Coon replied. "Let's hurry over now and get some!"
Dickie Deer Mouse was only too glad to accept the invitation. And he waited politely until Fatty had reached the ground, before going down himself.
Old Mr. Crow saw them the moment they entered the cornfield. And he hurried up to them with a most important air and advised them both that they "had come to a dangerous place."63
"Where's Dickie Deer Mouse?" ”

“ Something told him that he had stumbled upon the home of a dangerous person.81 And if the wind hadn't been blowing in his face, as he looked towards the wide opening, he would not have dared stay there as long as he did. ”